NewHavenBIZ

n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | M a r c h 2 0 2 0 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 9 BEYOND THE HEADLINES Downtown New Haven's race for lab space I n a market economy, the supply-demand curve favors equilibrium. When demand for a product or service surges, supply diminishes. So market forces react to replenish the supply. So it is in New Haven with research and laboratory space. As the number of new technology and bioscience enterprises appearing on the scene accelerated over the past decade — many but not all of them products of research originated at Yale — formerly plentiful startup space in onetime industrial properties such as Science Park (the former Winchester Repeating Arms factory) and District New Haven (a former CT Transit bus depot) filled to capacity. So, the market makes more. at was the calculus of Carter Winstanley, who over the past year has been planning a major new downtown development at an address that doesn't today exist: 101 College Street, where the Concord, Mass.-based Winstanley Enterpris- es proposes to build 500,000 square feet of laboratory and life-sciences incubation space. e official launch of the project, first revealed by New Haven BIZ Jan. 29, is expected to follow upon completion of a development agreement between the city, the developer and the state, which owns the land on which the new building would be constructed. at agree- ment was still in negotiation in late February, according to people involved in the project. e 101 College Street project would house approximately 100,000 square feet of incubator space for life-sciences enterprises that have advanced beyond the bare-bones (one or two employees) startup stage and have begun to hire work- ers who need more laboratory and office space to grow their compa- nies. Much of the remainder of the space would house conventional office and meeting space. e site is opposite one of Win- stanley's other major New Haven developments: the 513,000-square- foot Class A life-sciences building completed for Alexion Pharmaceu- ticals in 2015 at 100 College St. Like that structure, the proposed 101 College would also be constructed atop the existing Rt. 34 connector. "We've been working with Carter Winstanley since the middle of last year under a memorandum of understanding," said Michael Piscitelli, the city's economic devel- opment administrator. "is is an opportunity to coordinate and see if we can pull a project together in [conjunction with existing] Down- town Crossing project." Once a development agreement is finalized between Winstanley and the city, the project will require ap- proval from the Board of Alders and the state Department of Economic & Community Development. Dawn Hocevar, president and CEO at BioCT, the New Hav- en-based not-for-profit charged with growing the state's bioscience industry, called the College Street proposal, along with the October acquisition of 115 Munson Street by Winchester Partners, "the most promising projects to date" for ad- dressing the lab space problem. "ey are very needed and would be very beneficial to our growing industry space needs," Hocevar said. n B I O S C I E N C E S TAT E G O V E R N M E N T Urge for going: CBIA calls for growth focus J ob-creation is Job 1. So says the state's largest business group. e Connecticut Busi- ness & Industry Association (CBIA) released its 2020 policy priorities last month, calling for state lawmakers to make job and economic growth the primary focus of this year's legislative session. "We've lagged other states, the region, and the nation for far too long," said CBIA president and CEO Joe Brennan. "We're starting to see better signs of economic growth but we're still lagging in job creation. e announcement coincided with the opening of the spring legislative session, which opened Feb. 5 and is scheduled to adjourn May 6. "e main focus of this legislative session must be on making it easier for employers to grow in Connecti- cut as opposed to what we've seen over the last several years, with new costs and mandates hampering much-needed growth," Brennan said. e state's economy grew 2.1 percent in the third quarter of 2019, Brennan noted, the state's third consecutive quarter of growth, aer growing just 0.5 percent in 2018. He called the state's 2019 job num- bers "disappointing," with private sector job growth at a miniscule 0.4 percent, compared with 1.1 percent for the six New England states and 1.5 percent nationwide. "e legislature must avoid new mandates and higher costs, whether it's taxes or more administrative burdens," he said. CBIA is also calling for reforms to the state's paid family and medical leave mandate, which the legislature approved during the 2019 session. Eric Gjede, CBIA's vice president of government affairs, called the legislation "a one-size-fits-all man- date that unfairly targets the state's small businesses." "We're asking lawmakers to pro- tect small businesses and make paid FMLA optional for companies with 30 or fewer employees," Gjede said. "More than three-quarters of our member companies say the man- date will negatively impact their operations, with production and workforce reductions and employee benefit changes among the options they're exploring." Gjede said Connecticut needs positive reforms to grow jobs and leverage the state's full economic potential. "is agenda provides a policy framework for driving much-need- ed job and economic growth," he said. "We call for state lawmakers to adopt what is a responsible, common sense approach to ad- dressing Connecticut's challenges and leveraging the opportunities for growth." n Proposed 500,000-square foot Winstanley project at 101 College St. CBIA's Brennan: Nix to new mandates and higher costs.

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